


The adventures of the gods

by Pandaora



Category: DC Universe, Lucifer (Comic), Norse Religion & Lore, The Sandman (Comics)
Genre: Blood?, Definitely cursing, F/M, Idk how sensitive people are, It's DC but it's not, M/M, Mythology - Freeform, Norse Mythology - Freeform, Other, Other gods might appear later, Violence, idk what to tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:06:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23300629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pandaora/pseuds/Pandaora
Summary: In this world there are many mystical creatures and beings. Griffins, pegasi, goblins, trolls, dwarves, elfs, cyclops, giants and so much more. Amongst these creatures are those that humans call gods. Some say that there is only one god. The God. The one and only. Others say that there are many gods. The gods are in charge of different aspects in life. The norse gods, Greek, Roman, Egyptian and so on.This story will focus on the Norse gods.But who knows, maybe others will join the game too.
Kudos: 1





	1. The introduction

What you, the reader, must understand first of all, is that the Gods don’t live on Earth. They live around the planet in small holes cutting the veil of reality. They have portals everywhere and something keeping them connected to Earth.

  
In the norse gods’ case, they have a tree. A big tree called _Yggdrasil_. 

The world tree. Only it’s not quite a single tree. Her roots cause smaller trees to grow in every realm. If you search and are determined enough you just might find the actual center of her. The “true” tree. 

Many have actually found it, only they don’t realize that it’s her. 

  
One usually says that there are nine realms. Or worlds. Or countries. It really all depends on how you see it. 

  
There’s the land from the origin. The first land. Or at least one of them. 

Muspelheim. A land of fire and heat. 

A land so hot that those who do not belong there won’t even have time to take their last breath before perishing, should you travel there. 

In this land lives a big Jötun, or giant. He sits on something like a throne of glowing hot boulders with a flaming sword by his side. His name is Surt.

Surt is waiting.

Surt is anticipating.

Surt is plotting and planning.

Surt is preparing for the end of the world.

Surt is waiting for Ragnarök.

  
Niflheim is quite the opposite of Muspelheim. It’s a land of ice in the north. 

Here the ice giants live. Some even say that this is where the goddess of death, Hel, lives. Not in this story I’m afraid. She lives in-

  
-Helheim, or Helaheim, or just Hel. 

Land of the dead. Land of souls.

The previous statement isn’t all lies here though. To get to Helheim you need to pass Niflheim and the two realms are closely connected. It’s why Helheim is often very cold. Hel’s entrance is through a cave. Go down the stairs and you’ll reach a rope bridge. Don’t get too eager though. Right before you actually reach the kingdom of Hel you’ll meet the guard. A hellhound. Hel’s fearsome guard dog. His name is Garmr. He stands there, guarding. He makes sure no souls escape Hel, and he makes sure that only those who belong there come through. Or those invited.

To actually reach Helheim you need to travel a long way. 

It’s a nine days’ travel downwards and downwards and downwards still from-

  
-Midgard; The land of the humans. The “mortals”.

You live here.

This is the portal leading to Earth. Our Earth. 

You must surely have heard about the witches and wizards on earth, if only as fairy tales.

Yes well they live outside the portal. There’s a small land there for humans that don’t quite have a proper place on Earth. In this small land lies a portal that leads to our boring and mundane Earth as we know it.

Now it wasn’t always like that. This was a feature that appeared later on, when people decided that watching witches burn would be a good idea for whatever reason.

  
Then we have Jötunheim. As stated earlier Jötun is another word for giant. They could also be called Tursar, but we’ll stick with Jötun or giant. 

As the name suggests it’s the realm of giants. Jötun - Giant , Heim - Home. Home of giants. 

Not so much frost and fire giants, as they live more around Muspelheim and Niflheim, but the rest tend to live here.

Ruling this land is Laufey and Farbaute. 

Not much is known about Laufey other than the fact that he’s Farbaute’s wife. Some speculate that he’s an earth giant though. 

Farbaute, however, is known to be a giant of thunder. He is one of the strongest giants, as his name suggests. “He who hits hard” or “cruel striker”.

The leaders of this land tend to keep quiet though. Their people are a bit more violent and loud. Not that Laufey and Farbaute seems to mind.

  
Close to Midgard and Jötunheim we have Svartalfheim and Nidavellir. They are close enough to be counted as one, but far enough apart to be separate. They share land but it has been divided, if that makes sense.

In Svartalfheim we have the Svartalfs, as you might have figured out. Svartalfs, or dark/black elves. The dark elves live in the darker parts of the forests. They tend to use black magic and can have quite a temper. Unlike their counterpart, Ljósálfar - light elves, they’re not so happy to help strangers. They mind their own business and as they don’t help strangers, they don’t ask for help either. 

Nidavellir is the land of the dwarves. Rude little creatures, but damn if they’re not the best smiths in the universe. Some have a hard time to tell dwarves and dark elves apart at times but don’t tell them that. You might lose a finger if you're lucky. Your life if you're less lucky. 

It’s like saying all asian look alike.

Some say that the dark elves tend to have a stronger sense of beauty around them though. 

The dwarves are a bit easier to sway. They are not as reluctant to help. They’re the ones forging the best weapons and they can create things with material you didn’t even know existed.

  
Now we’ve finally come to the top of the world tree. The crown, so to speak. 

  
Here we have Alfheim, home of the light elves. They’re not as “shy” as their counterpart. They’re kinder and not as hostile towards strangers. Make no mistake though. They could take your life before you even realized they were a angry with you.

They kill with a grace unlike any other. It’s like a beautiful dance. Onlookers wouldn’t even think about the fact that they were slaughtering. Some would feel blessed to die at the hands of a light elf. 

Light elves are not often violent despite their great skill. They are not warriors. They’re more than happy to lend a helping hand. You should be cautious, but not afraid. If you’re afraid they’ll think you have reason to be scared. They’ll think you’ve done something to deserve their wrath. 

  
Vanaheim has a... history let’s say.

The land is ruled by the Vanir. Some call them fertility gods. 

They are great warriors despite that, as proven in the great war between the Vanir of Vanaheim, and their neighbours, the Æsir of Asgard. 

The war was a long one. 

The blame is often shifted between the two, but they have since come to peace. 

The war started when a witch by the name Gullveig came to the Æsir. She was a greedy witch, speaking only of her lust and love for gold.

Now the Asgardians were never known to be very calm and peaceful. In fact, they’re rather rash and violent. Warriors through and through.

They quickly grew annoyed and angry with Gullveig’s greed and seized her. They tortured her and burned her to death. Three times they killed her with flames, and three times she came back. She turned out to be a seer. A mistress of the dark arts. 

  
Gullveig was a traveller and she went literally everywhere, and wherever she went she had another name. 

The Æsir came to call her Heid.

  
Now to the war. The Vanir were enraged when they heard how their neighbours had welcomed their guest, the witch.

They swore vengeance and prepared their troops for war. 

Oden, the allfather of the Æsir, the great god, the wisest of all gods , was prepared for this. See, he has a throne where he can see everything in all of the world, including the Vanir plotting against his people. 

  
The war broke out and it was a long and merciless war. 

After a long time, the Asgardians and the Vanir grew tired of fighting for so long and came to the conclusion that it was better to just make peace already. 

The leaders of the two lands met up to discuss just what to do. 

They argued a bit over the cause of the war and who was to blame.

This little meeting is how Freja and her twin brother, Frej, came to live in Asgard. 

See the Æsir and the Vanir swore to live side by side in peace. 

To ensure the other’s loyalty they traded leaders.

The Vanir offered the leader Njord and his son Frej. It was decided the beautiful Freja were to follow her father and brother. They also let their wiseman, Kvasir follow.

The Æsir were a bit reluctant in accepting children born out of incest, as Njord had gotten twins through relations with his own sister, but they accepted the trade nonetheless. 

Now a trade is not a trade unless both parts give something, so Oden sent his own wiseman, Mimir, and one of the best fighters, Honir, to live in Vanaheim. 

And that’s more or less the story of how Vanaheim and Asgard - the home of warrior gods and Æsir, came to live peacefully side by side and how the Æsir got to claim Freja as part of their own people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> References to The sandman, Lucifer and maybe other DCU things might appear later on.  
> What can I say, I like how things work in that universe.  
> Probably nothing will actually be cannon tho.  
> I like the idea of Dream and his siblings.  
> For now it's just norse mythology.   
> Tell me if it makes you cringe when you read Freja, Oden, Loke, Tor and if you want me to use Freya, Odin, Loki, Thor instead.


	2. Loke and his quest for golden hair (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loke has done something utterly stupid, and now he has to fix it. As usual.

Loke is smart. He’s witty and cunning. He really truly is.    
But sometimes his mischievous tendencies and choices contradict this statement. 

For example when he decided that it would be a great idea to cut Tor’s wife, Sif’s, beautiful long hair. 

Here’s a little fun fact. To the asgardian women their hair is everything. Not because it’s pretty, but because it represents their pride, so you can imagine Sif’s reaction when she woke up one day to find that her pride was cut off. 

When you think about it Loke really shouldn’t have been surprised when that day he got pushed up against a wall by a very angry, very strong, red haired asgardian warrior. A very furious Tor.

Loke yelped loudly and stared into Tor’s gray eyes.

“What the  _ fuck _ Tor?” He gasped. “Have you lost the little mind you had?”

Loke’s words got met by a low, rumbling growl.

“What did you do to Sif’s hair, shape shifter?”

Tor’s usually playful voice was low and threatening.

“Why are you so certain that it was me?” Loke asked in an offended tone. “It might as well have been-”

“Because!” Tor cut him off. “Whenever something bad happens in Asgard, Loke, you’re always involved!”    
Tor’s grip around Loke’s throat hardened.

“Admit it. It was you, wasn’t it?”   
  
Loke whimpered.

“Okay, Okay!! I admit! It was me!! Let me go no-” 

His last word got cut off by Tor’s hand gripping even tighter.

“It was ju- Just a joke-!” Loke gasped desperately. 

“A very shitty joke, Loke.” Tor growled. 

“I know I know! I was drunk-!” 

Tor frowned because he knew for a fact that Loke lied. 

“People will think she has been punished for something. That she fucked another man in our bed. How, in any way, drunk or not, did you think that would be funny?”

“Oh yeah… There is that, isn’t there…?” Loke said as if he was concerned. Tor could see the gleam in Loke’s eyes, however. The hint of pride hiding behind those green eyes. Loke was a good liar. Mostly. But not when you’ve known him for as long as Tor has.

“Fix. It. Give my wife her hair back.  _ Now! _ ” Tor growled the last part.    
  
“Are you mad?! How am I supposed to do that? Her hair is gone! I used it for- ...For something. Probably.”

“You are going to fix it. Because if you don’t-” Tor’s lips almost brushed against the shell of Loke’s ear. “- I’m going to break Every. Single. Bone. In your miserable body and I will make you thank me for it” He muttered. Loke shivered. 

When Tor pulled back his sometimes friend was pale. Loke eyed him warily from behind his blonde hair that has fallen in his eyes.

His lips formed a thin line. 

“You’re bluffing” he stated but regretted it immediately. He heard it before he felt it. A loud snap, then a sharp pain in his arm. His wailing drew the attention of a few passerbys. 

“Oh am I now?” Tor said when the wailing had died down slightly to be replaced by whimpering and low cursing.

“You’re insane-!” when he felt a harsh grip around his upper arm he shrieked. “OKAY!!! Stop stop! I’ll fix it! I’ll fix it, and it will be even  _ better _ that her last hair! I swear it!” 

Tor let him go and patted his head with a smile.

“Now there’s a good Loke. I knew I could count on you.” 

With that the redhead left.

Loke slided down the wall and breathed heavily. 

‘ _ Oh great… How am I going to fix this… Fucking shit…. _ ’ Loke thought as he inspected his arm miserably. 

He took a moment to regain his breath before standing and going back to his own house where his own wife, Sigun, stood. Pregnant as can be. 

“Loke! Welcome ho-” her sentence was cut short “What happened to your arm?!” she shrieked.    
  


“Oh shut up you stupid old cow. Can’t you see it’s broken??” Loke snapped back. 

Sigun rolled her eyes and approached. 

“Watch your tongue or I’ll lock the door tonight, with you outside.” She inspected Loke’s arm. “Ouch…” She ran a hand through her hair that reached only to her shoulder. She never cared much about the pride thing. She claimed it got in the way while she worked in the garden and that it got into the food. The other females gave her odd looks and often made sure their own long hair was there when they saw her, but they didn’t think much less of her. 

Loke let out a shivering breath.

“Tor can go fuck himself in the ass with a thorned twig, I’m telling you that.” He stated as Sigun went to get materials to patch him up. 

“Tor?” she asked, then let out a tired sigh. “What did you do this time, dear?” 

“It was  _ just _ a prank.” Loke winced when Sigyn started tending to his arm, rubbing herbs on it. 

“I’ve heard that before. It usually doesn’t end well.” That earned her a glare that she has grown immune to over the years. 

“I may or may not have cut Sif’s hair.” 

Sigun gasped and smacked his head.

“Why the fuck would you do that?! You know how much her hair means to her!!”   
Loke had to think quickly. Using the wrong answer here could result in Sigun not treating his arm and that. … That would not be good

“I-I just figured how beautiful your hair is, my sweet! You know I like short hair so I was doing her a favor!” his smile was disgustingly sweet.

Sigun narrowed her eyes and huffed, but despite herself she blushed.

“Well… I understand why Tor did this. You brought this upon yourself.” She finished wrapping up his arm and took a seat. “How are you going to fix this?”

“Bitch I don’t know!” He said. “I’m thinking!”

“Well, Think. Faster. I will not lose my husband because he cut someone’s hair. How will I explain that to our children?” she put a hand on her stomach. “Do you realize how lame that sounds? I’d rather you picked a fight with a Svartalf and died in battle than having you beaten to death by Tor.”

Loke’s eyes widened a little. 

“Eu-fucking-rika!” He exclaimed. “Oh Sigun! I knew I married you for something! You’re  _ Genius _ ” Loke stood up and kissed his wife deeply. 

She looked confused.

“I’m glad. But what did you realize?” She saw Loke grabbing his bag. That always worried her. “Where are you going??”   
  
“To Nidavellir! Oh I’m so smart this is  _ perfect _ !”

“ _ What?! _ Loke! Please I was kidding!” 

“Oh calm down, love. I’m not killing myself.” Loke rolled his eyes. “Dwarves can make anything, don’t you see? They can make Sif new hair!” Loke looked so pleased with himself. 

“Hm~ You always were witty.” Sigun smiled lovingly at her husband. “You always get yourself into messes. I should know better than to doubt your ability to get out of them by now.”

“Yes. Yes you should. I won’t be home until four suns! Brace yourself darling. For you will never have witnessed something so clever.” Loke grinned. 

Sigun looked at him.

“Just say Thursday like everyone else.”   
  


“And honor Tor and his ‘weekday’ that he got named after him? No thank you.” Loke looked disgusted by the mere thought. Then he kissed Sigun again. “I love you, sugarplum~” he said sweetly. 

“I love you too, Loke. Be careful.” she replied, and with that her husband left their house. 

  
  


Loke took his horse and after purchasing some food and other necessities for his long travel he set off on his journey to see the dwarves. 

While riding through the forest he thought long and hard about how to request this whole thing. 

‘ _ “Hey. I cut the hair of my friend’s wife and I kinda need new hair for her. Please fix?” sounds stupid. No. It has to be better… _ ’ 

He stopped by a river seven hours later to let his horse rest. He leaned against a tree and thought. 

‘ _ “My friend went and lost her hair and noble as I am, I went on a quest to get her new hair!” …. Ugh. No… That’s laying it on too thick… Oh Destiny, lend me your wisdom. _ ’

He groaned and kept thinking and thinking as the day went on. After another four hours he set up camp to rest and eat dinner.

As he lay there, staring up at the night sky, something suddenly hits him and he grins wickedly. 

“Oh this is just too good! Oh the genius that is I~!” he all but sang. “Step aside Tor.  _ I’m  _ the new hero of Asgard now~!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> References to The sandman, Lucifer and maybe other DCU things might appear later on.  
> What can I say, I like how things work in that universe.  
> Probably nothing will actually be cannon tho.  
> I like the idea of Dream and his siblings.  
> For now it's just norse mythology.   
> Tell me if it makes you cringe when you read Freja, Oden, Loke, Tor and if you want me to use Freya, Odin, Loki, Thor instead.


	3. Loke and his quest for golden hair (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loke has a plan.

When Loke woke up that morning he was in a wonderful mood, still running high on his plan. Oh, he was so proud. You have no idea.

He enjoyed his breakfast and prepared his horse to get going. He sighed and enjoyed the birds singing. Not only that. The herbs that Sigyn used to treat his arm the day before were working wonders. He could move his arm again with close to no struggle at all. 

‘ _ Oh what a beautiful, perfect morning! _ ’ he thought to himself. ‘ _ Oh well. No time to lose. I am on the clock. _ ’

He sat up on his horse after packing his things and rode towards his destination. After three hours of nonstop riding he reached a house made of stone, smoke coming out from the chimney indicating that the residents are already hard at work.

He tied his steed to a tree and threw it some food before entering the house. He was in a fancy, green coat with golden details, a white shirt under that and dark grey pants. His boots high and well polished. He looked important and rich. 

In a way I suppose he was. 

He was met by three dwarves covered in soot and sweat. The room was lit by the fire in the forge. 

The dwarves looked at Loke, then at each other, then at Loke again.

“What brings you here, shapeshifter?” one asked, suspicion clear in his voice. 

“Oh? You know of me?” Loke asked. Another dwarf nodded. 

“Your stories are well known around the realms, Loke, ‘changeling’. Your reputation precedes you. ”   
Loke barely resisted an eye roll at the nickname. Instead he smiled patiently.

“I can say the same about you three, sons of Ivaldi. There are rumors that you are the best craftsmen that are known to man, hell the  _ world _ even!”

The brothers straightened their backs at the claim.

“That’s right. There’s no one better than us when it comes to craftsmanship.” stated the oldest.

“Oh I am sure~!” Loke smiled. “However… There is that one thing that is also rumored…” He said thoughtfully. The brothers frowned. “Oh well! Not that it would interest you~!”   
  
“You’re right! It doesn’t!” One brother said. “But… One can ever have too much knowledge, eh?”

Loke held back a victorious smirk. ‘ _ And they have taken the bait _ ’

“Oh it’s nothing. Just that… Well, see. People are saying that there are those better than you, and I’m almost ready to believe them. 

The oldest scoffed. “Who could  _ possibly _ be better than us?”    
The brothers crossed their arms.

“Word on the market is that Brokk and Eitri can make treasures just as good as you, if not better!”

“ _ LIES! _ ” the dwarf exclaimed outraged. The other two nodded and grumbled their agreement. 

“I am sure you believe that, but people tend to be rather full of themselves.  _ But! _ ” He stressed before the brothers could cut him off. “You’re in luck! I can arrange for a way this can be settled. You three and Brokk and Eitri will present three treasures to the gods of Asgard. Tor, Frej and the one-eyed god, Oden himself, will be the judge of your gifts and determine who is the best.” Loke crossed his arms and smiled innocently. 

“Challenge accepted! Brothers! Let’s get to work!” The oldest roared.

“Wait! I must say the one and only rule! One of the gifts must be hair! Long, beautiful hair!”

The brothers frowned.

“Why?” the youngest questioned.

“Oh. I have just heard that hair is the hardest thing to make! Succeeding in such a gift would be very impressive.”

The three brothers pondered on this. They could think of a million other things that were harder to make that simple hair. But then again, perhaps the gods are not that knowledgeable. Maybe they’re that easily impressed?

“Very well. Anything else?”

“Nope! Other than that little detail you have free hands~! You have five days to work and come up with the other two gifts. Good luck~!” 

The brothers got to work and Loke left.    
‘ _ Too easy. _ ’ he thought and smirked.

‘ _ Now to get the other brothers to join this little competition. _ ’

For the second time that day he sat up on his horse and rode off.    
An hour later he reaches another building. This one is more like a barn. Loke enters and there he is met by a smaller man. Like the Ivaldi brothers, this man was covered in soot and sweat. He seemed a bit stronger than them though. 

‘ _ I was under the impression that they were two…. _ ’ Loke barely held back a frown.

“Hello. I am Loke. Loke of Asgard.”

“We know who you are, Loke, And we don’t appreciate your presence here.” A man said, but not  _ the  _ man that was standing in front of him. A slightly bigger man came out from a door. His muscles are bigger.

“Ah. You must be Brokk!” 

“Yes, I am.” Brokk, the older brother, says and wipes his hands with a worn out rag. “We don’t want you here, Loke.” Brokk narrows his eyes. “Child of Jötun”

Loke grits his teeth and takes a deep breath. 

“I just came to inform you that the sons of Ivaldi have challenged you to create three gifts of your finest quality for the gods. But I guess if you’re not interested…” 

“We’re not. Thank you and goodbye. Leave.” Brokk snarked. 

“Of course, of course. I’ll be on my way.” Loke turned to leave. “Then again… They  _ did _ say that thing about you.” 

Brokk didn’t rise to the bait. His brother on the other hand.

“What did they say?” Eitri asked. His voice was low and had a hint of innocence in it. Loke heard Brokk sigh heavily but chose to ignore him.

“Oh. They said that you and your brother were incapable and clumsy. No control over your hands and unable to create so much as a horseshoe, if that.”

Loke didn’t miss the way Brokk rolled his eyes.

“If they doubt our abilities so much, why challenge us at all? Hm?” the older crossed his arms with a doubtful expression.

“I was simply trying to defend you and told them that the two of you are the best smiths in all the realms. Even the gods are impressed by your handiwork. But asking to prove themselves, they requested that I bring along this challenge to you.” Loke smiled innocently. “I gotta say, I’m quite curious about this too. The Ivaldis are without a doubt amazing smiths too.”

Brokk narrowed his eyes.

“So you agreed to arrange this little competition, hm?”   
  
“You could say that.”

“And what, if I may ask, do you gain from this?” 

“Oh please. I’m not asking for anything~! Seeing the outcome is reward enough.”

Brokk glanced at his brother and chewed the inside of his cheek while thinking. 

“I have no doubt that my brother can craft stronger and better things than those three Ivaldi sons. However. Let’s make this a bit more interesting, hm?” Brokk tilted his head and stared into Loke’s green eyes. 

Loke raised an eyebrow.

“Interesting how?”

“Let’s put something that matters at stake, shall we? We would like a reward when we clear this silly little ‘trial’”

“Of course! Name your prize! Whatever you wish to have you shall get. Given that you win.” Loke said with a confident and kind smile. He didn’t like how Brokk’s eyes gleamed though. 

“Your head.” Brokk stated simply with a smirk. 

Loke was careful not to let his smile weaken as he managed to force out his words. 

“My… My head? Like my knowledge?”   
  
“Yes! And no. I mean it quite literally, Loke. I. Want. Your. Head. I’m sure my brother here could create something truly amazing with that thing.” Brokk said and gestured at Loke’s head. Loke saw Eitri’s eyes gleam a little for the first time since he got there.

“V… Very well. My head it is.  _ If _ you win, and only then, will I let you take my head. You have five days to create your things for Tor, Oden and Frej.”

“Then you shall have your three treasures.” Brokk smiled. “Pleasure doing business with you. Off you go.”

Loke left with an uneasy feeling in his gut, cautiously rubbing where his head met his neck. ‘ _ Not to worry… I…. I’ll just have to make sure that they lose. That’s all! The gods will have their gifts, Sif will have her hair and I’ll have my head! Everybody happy! _ ’ 

Inside the barn Brokk huffed.

“I don’t trust that one… Oh well. Are you feeling inspired, Eitri?”

“Oh! Always, brother!” Eitri exclaimed as they entered the forge. 

“I’ll work the bellows as usual then?” Brokk asked and his brother nodded.

“I need this consistently hot. You can’t stop and you must keep the pace even! Otherwise everything will be ruined!” Eitri explained as he started gathering things.

Brokk nodded. Brokk was always the smarter of the brothers while Eitri was the actual craftsman. Eitri was a perfectionist and wouldn’t trust Brokk with the actual forging.

Outside, Loke was panicking.

‘ _ Come on Loke! Use that beautiful little head of yours! Think!! _ ’

He paced back and forth and even his horse was growing anxious.

Loke glanced at the barn and frowned.

‘ _ I just need to distract them… _ ’

The god turned himself into a fly and flew into the barn and snuck into the dark forge. 

“Remember to work the bellows steadily, brother! We need this to be absolutely perfect! I won’t settle for anything less than that!” Eitri called out from behind a piece of fabric separating the two. Eitri insisted that if he has prying eyes on him while he works, even if it’s his brother, he’ll be too distracted.

Brokk worked the bellows and grunted in response to show he had heard and acknowledged his brother’s words.

‘ _ Oh? Now that’s interesting _ ’ Loke thought to himself and felt smug. ‘ _ If I can properly distract Brokk I’ll get to keep my head! This is perfect! _ ’

Loke turned into a blackfly and flew over, the wings creating a loud annoying buzz. He started flying around Brokk, making sure to fly close to his ears and crash into his eyes, but the dwarf didn’t so much as flinch. He grunted, but Loke had a feeling that was more because of the working the bellows rather than a result of Loke’s pestering. 

‘ _ He must be very patient. He’ll crack soon _ ’ thought Loke and kept at it. 

For  _ hours _ this went on and the dwarf never faltered. Loke landed on a wall to catch his breath and regain his powers when Eitri called out.

“Oh it’s amazing, Brokk!! Oh the gods will be fools to not love it!” the shorter dwarf sounded excited. “Okay! Now I need you to pump faster. Double the pace you’ve done so far!”

Brokk started pumping the bellow at double the pace and Eitri let out an appreciative sound. “Keep it up until I say otherwise! Okay?”

Brokk made an acknowledging sound and kept at it.    
Soon the sound of Eitri working filled the forge again Loke glared and Brokk from afar. 

Soon he was at it again, buzzing in Brokk’s ears and brushing against his hands, cheeks, eyes but no. Not even so much as a twitch of an eye.

Another set of hours passed and Loke grew all the more frustrated and desperate, until finally he came to bite the dwarf’s hand. That earned a grunt and twitch and Loke perked up.

‘ _ I found my method. _ ’ If Loke had a mouth at the moment he’d carry a wicked grin.

The moment Brokk grunted, Eitri came out from behind the sheet separating the two and looked so proud and cocky as he put something glowing red into a pool of water to cool it down. Two gifts done.

Loke frowned and glared at Eitri, not that anyone would notice.

“Good job, Brokk!” He smiled brightly.

“Good job yourself.” the brother answered. “Do you know what to make next?”

Eitri thought.

“I’m not sure… I’ve had an idea I’ve wanted to make for a long time. The plans are done. I just need a few materials and we can start. You rest, Brother. You’ve been pumping for twenty three hours straight.”

“I’m not tired, Eitri. I can work some more.”

“I need to be sure you can handle the pumping! We both need a clear head on this. We’ll need our utmost focus on this next project. Rest.”

Reluctantly Brokk nodded and went to a bed in the forge and laid down. He thought about the blackfly, because despite ignoring it he had noticed it’s presence. How could he not. He found it suspicious that it was so persistent. 

Loke studied the dwarf’s expression and flew out. 

‘ _ He’ll know it was me if I keep in this form for the next time.  _ And _ I need something to eat now. And maybe I’ll even get some rest myself. _ ’.

Loke returned to his horse waiting further into the forest. He gave it some more food and water before eating something as well. After eating he went to take a quick nap in a tree.

When he woke up again it was still dark, but the sun was on its way up again so he hurried back to the forge, this time as a big, nasty, thick horsefly. He was lucky. The dwarves seemed to be getting ready to work.

“Okay, Brokk! I need you to-”   
  
“Work the bellows?” Brokk interrupted. “At a steady and unchanging pace?”   
  


“Ahm… Well, yes. But it’s even more important now! The heat needs to be even! A single degree higher or lower could mean disaster!” Eitri stressed.

“Don’t worry brother. I’ll work the bellows as I always have.” The brother smiled. The shorter nodded firmly and went behind the sheet and Brokk started working the bellows once more.

Loke waited for a while before attacking the older brother. He reasoned that pestering him right away would be too suspicious.

After an hour, Loke flew forward and sat on Brokk’s hand and bit as hard as he could into the flesh. Blood came out of the small wound but the pace didn’t falter. A small grunt, that’s it. Loke bit down again and this time it didn’t even earn him a grunt. Loke’s confidence died a little. 

Loke combined buzzing in the dwarf’s ears and biting neck, hands and face but the pace remained unchanged. Hours of this and Loke bit down once again on his victim’s cheekbone. This earned a twitch and for a split second, the pumping staggered. Loke barely noticed it.

But someone definitely did. 

“ _ NO!! _ ” Eitri shrieked. “No no no! It’s all gone to shit!!” He stormed out from behind the sheet and glared at his brother who was bleeding from his face, arms and hands. “What happened?? The entire project is destroyed now!! I was almost done too!”

Eitri seemed close to crying and Loke took that as his cue to leave. He flew out and to his horse.

“Let’s go home now.” He told his horse. “We should inform the gods that this competition will take place.” He changed back to his normal shape and sat up on his horse and they rode home. Loke feeling cocky, proud, confident and smug the entire way back home to Asgard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still not sure if I should keep to my language's spelling (Loke, Tor, Oden) or if I should use Loki, Thor, Odin. :/


	4. Loke and his quest for golden hair (Part 3 Final)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gods finally receive their treasures.

Loke reached Asgard and went straight to the castle where Oden sat on his throne in all his glory. His ravens, Munin and Hugin, sat on the backrest. 

“Loke! What a surprise. Welcome back.” the one-eyed allfather’s booming voice echoed in the room.

“If you knew I was away, allfather, then you also knew I was coming. There’s nothing you can’t see from that throne of yours. Don’t play innocent.” Loke responded with a chuckle as he strolled closer to the throne. 

“Nothing gets past you, huh, Loke?” Oden chuckled and leaned further back into his seat. “You’re right. I knew you were coming and I know that you left. However! I don’t know why you left. Care to fill me in?”

Loke couldn’t tell the truth about why he travelled so he settled with saying “I went to arrange gifts to you, Tor and Frej! The dwarves were so eager to prove their worth to you so I went to seek out the best of the best, and they will come at the end of the week and present their gifts to you.”    
The lie came easily to Loke.

“How very thoughtful of you. But I do not require anything as of now. Neither does my wife.” 

“Oh, Oden. After I’ve gone through all this trouble you’ll reject the gifts?” One of the ravens, Munin, let out a noise and Oden let out a laugh. Loke glared at the raven. “What did the damned bird just say?”

“Nothing that’s not the truth, Loke. Pay it no mind.” Loke couldn’t help but think that the allfather looked smug as he spoke. “I never said I’d reject the gifts, Loke. I merely stated that I don’t need them. I can’t speak for Tor and Frej. Tor has been in a bad mood lately and a gift would probably cheer him up, and Frej will always appreciate a good gift.”

“More greedy than his sister, that one.” Loke muttered.

“Not greedy, my friend. Just… Appreciative.” Oden corrected. Not that Loke cared much. “I will speak to my Tor and Frej. We’ll accept the gifts in the town square.”

Loke nodded and said his goodbyes before returning to his wife. 

Frigga walked up next to her husband and kissed his cheek. “I am curious, husband. What did Munin say?”

“Oh. You heard that, did you?” Oden smiled at his wife. “He just commented on Loke's statement. ‘After I’ve gone through all this trouble’. Munin merely stated that Loke never does anything but get himself into and creating trouble.”

His wife, Frigga, giggled a little and took a seat.

“True. But I don’t think he always means to cause trouble.” Her husband let out an amused hum at that. 

Soon enough the end time was up for the dwarves and they came to Asgard with their new treasures. 

Loke couldn’t help but feel smug when he noticed that Brokk had come alone, his face and arms bruised and swollen.

In the town square old,wise and graying Oden sat. On his right, brave, strong and red haired Tor sat. His arms were crossed and he seemed rather impatient. Sif stood next to him with a cloak covering her. On Oden’s left sat beautiful, fair and kindhearted Frej. His hair was bright copper colored and his face was a bit freckled. His green eyes expectant and eager.

The dwarves stopped close to the gods with their waggons behind them. 

“Allfather, Tor, Frej! I present to you the sons of Ivaldi and…. One of the two brothers, Eitri and Brokk.” Loke smirked a little. “Where is your brother, Brokk?”

“Home.” Was the dwarf’s short answer. He glared slightly at the blonde god in front of him. 

Loke’s smirk dropped. He had hoped for a better reaction.

“Ivaldi brothers! Present your treasures to the gods!” Loke bowed and stepped to the side and observed as the oldest walked up to Oden with the first gift.

“Allfather! Here I gift you a spear! Gungner!” he said.

“A fine spear. But I have plenty.” Oden responded, looking unimpressed. Loke cursed internally.

“I’m sure you do! But I can guarantee that you have no spear such as this! Gungner will, no matter what you throw it at, hit its mark. Always, without fail! And anything you use it on it will penetrate!”

That piqued Oden’s interest. Loke could tell.

Since Oden had only one eye his aim could be off at times, and that was a huge disadvantage in a battle.

“It’s a fine gift. I accept.” He simply said. No real hint of being very impressed or excited, but you could tell he was grateful. 

“Frej, god of fertility!” the god sat straighter in his seat and all but bounced in his seat. His excitement quickly died when he was handed a tiny piece of folded cloth. 

“A...scarf?” the god frowned at the cloth in his hands. He looked disappointed.

“No! Not a scarf! It looks like it now, but if you unfold it you will find that it’s a magnificent ship!” the dwarf explained. “Wherever it goes the wind will always be in your favor! And best of all, as you can see. It’s foldable!” Frej grew more and more excited with every word.

“Ooooh~! Fancy!” the god grinned. “I love it! Thank you!” 

Loke could have sworn that he saw a blush on the dwarf’s face, but it quickly moved on to Tor.

“Tor! God of thunder. I present to you the finest hair of pure gold! Attach it to someone’s head and it will be granted long, beautiful, ever growing golden hair. It will never tangle and never will its ends split!” The dwarf held out a big bunch of golden straws.

“We shall test it.” Tor said. “Sif, my love. Come forth.” he said as he stood up to accept the gift. His wife hesitantly removed the cloak covering her head, her expression ashamed and cheeks red as the onlookers gasped. Tor gently put the golden straws over her naked head and they quickly attached to her skull. She was no longer bald and her hair was even more beautiful than it was before. Tor smiled warmly at his wife as she teared up from happiness. 

“Oh Sif. Not even Freja’s beauty can compare to yours.” Tor said and kissed his wife.

“ _ Hey!! _ ” came Frej’s voice. “That’s my sister you’re talking about!” He glared a little, but seeing his friend so in love, he quickly dropped the matter. He understood that as beautiful as his sister was, nothing could compare when it came to true love. 

“Now for Brokk’s gifts!” Loke announced, tired of all the ‘lovey-doveyness’. It made him sick. 

Reminded that there were still gifts to be judged, Tor took a seat and Frej quickly gathered himself. Oden sat with calm authority, as usual.

Brokk stepped forward to the allfather first.

“Allfather. I give you Draupnir.” he said and held out an armring in pure gold. Oden tried it on. It fit like a glove and he looked questionly on the dwarf in front him. “This armring drips golden treasures. Never bigger than itself, but every nine days a gift will be dropped from it. It can expand your riches or you can give them to someone else if you want. Money will never be an issue anymore.”

“Oh? That is a clever gift. I’ll accept this gift.”

Brokk nodded. Loke calmed himself, reminding himself that Oden didn’t give a much bigger reaction than he had to his previous treasure.

“Indeed. My brother is very clever.” he said with a hint of pride. Loke didn’t like it.

The dwarf moved on to Frej.

“Frej. I give you-” he held out a hand to his waggon. A boar with golden bristles stepped out and walked over. “- Gyllenborste.” he finished. Frej sat at the edge of his seat and smiled brightly.

“He’s adorable!!” he exclaimed. Loke rolled his eyes. “What does he do?” the god eagerly asked. 

“My brother figured you needed something strong to pull your carriage. Gyllenborste will do just that. He can fly over the seas for the longest time without tiring and he can run faster than the fastest horse alive.” the dwarf explained.

“I love him! I accept!!” the eager god all but squealed. He stood and petted the big boar and the boar happily let him. 

‘ _ Now I suppose it’s just the failed gift left. _ ’ Loke thought. 

Brokk looked at Tor and walked over with a big hammer.

“Tor… I give you Mjölner.” he said and handed over the hammer. “With this all your battles will always lean towards your victory. It will never miss its target and it will return to your hand when you call for it. On top of that it’s unbreakable. There’s no force in the universe strong enough to break it. Not only that, but it can also summon lightning. My brother, Eitri, saw it fitting seeing as you’re a god of thunder.”

“Oh damn.” Frej said. “If I were a giant or a troll I’d be scared shitless if I came across Tor carrying that thing.” It was clear that Frej was awestruck. 

“Amazing…” Tor said and held the hammer. “The handle…” he said, adjusting his grip. “It’s a bit short, isn’t it?”   
  
“I’m afraid that’s my fault. I got distracted for a mere second and… Well. That happened.”

Loke smirked. He had succeeded in his task. Yes, the gift was impressive. But it was not perfect.

Tor stood up and looked around. He selected a target and threw his new hammer at it. The target was destroyed in an instant and returned, as promised, when Tor called for it. The onlookers were amazed, as were Frej. Oden didn’t give much of a reaction, but he smiled.

“With this it will be much easier to protect Asgard.” Tor said, pleased. “I more than happily accept the gift. The short handle doesn’t matter. It’s comfortable to carry and use. Tell your brother that his gift is much appreciated.”

Brokk nodded. 

“I will. Thank you, Tor.” the dwarf bowed.

One of the Ivaldi sons spoke up. “So who won??”

“Oh yes. There was the matter of a winner.” Oden mumbled. 

Loke spoke up.   
“Well I think that the foldable ship was very impressive! And useful, seeing as he travels so much between Alfheim and Asgard! And Oden, old friend! With your new spear you will be able to rule and protect better than ever before!” he smiled. “And Tor! Isn’t that the most magnificent hair you’ve ever seen?” 

“Yes. Sif’s hair is very beautiful indeed, but this hammer is more useful to me.”

“But the _hair_ , Tor!! The _Golden! Hair!_ **_Sif’s golden hair!_** ” Loke pressed.

“Yes yes. It’s very beautiful. But did you see how cool the hammer was? It completely destroyed the target! Fighting trolls and giants will never be easier! Protecting our people will always be my first priority. I would still love Sif without her hair. It was mostly for  _ her _ sake that I appreciate it. Brokk and Eitri wins my vote!” Tor said and beamed happily. Loke gritted his teeth.

“And the ship is impressive, indeed, Loke. But it’s a _thing_! An _object_! Gyllenborste here, however.” Frej said and hugged his boar. “He’s a living being! A _beautiful_ living being! And adorable! _And_ useful! You make a fair point with the travels, but don’t forget, Gyllenborste can take me anywhere faster than ever!” Frej continued. “I also vote for Brokk and Eitri!”

“Protecting my people is more important to me than riches. But my vote no longer matters. It’s two to one. Brokk! You can go home proudly and tell your brother he has made the most amazing gifts and the two of you will now be known as the best craftsmen in all the nine realms!”

Loke did his best to not let fear creep up on his face. He couldn’t run. That would make him a coward. He needed to find a way to get out of this little bet.

“I thank you, allfather. But this was never for the title.” Brokk smirked and looked at Loke. “Shape shifter.” he said and took out a sharp blade. “Your head if you please.”

Loke swallowed thickly. 

“Of course. Of course! My head! A bet is a bet.” Loke said and slowly approached the dwarf. He felt the cold steel make contact with the skin on his neck. Then it hit him. “However! Do make sure that you don’t take any part of my neck! I only promised my head!”

“But- That’s impossible!” Brokk growled.

“So it would seem.” Loke said with a smug grin. “But again. I only promised my head. Not my neck. If you take a piece of my neck, you have broken your part of the promise. Could you live with that?”

“I hate to say it but Loke is right.” Oden said with a tired sigh. “He always was good at twisting his words…”

“That snake.” Tor muttered.

Brokk looked conflicted and looked ready to kill. 

“Then I will make use of your head in another way.” He growled. Loke tilted his head curiously. “Allfather. May I be granted thread and needle? I will sew the mouth shut on this two-faced good for nothing changeling. His mouth is part of his head, is it not?”   
Loke’s eyes widened slightly and he glanced at Oden. 

‘ _ Surely he won’t allow it! _ ’

“That’s true enough. Granted! Bring the dwarf thread and needle.” Oden said without hesitation.

“ **_WHAT?!_ ** Oden! Old friend! You can’t be serious!”

“You brought this upon yourself, Loke. Accept your punishment. Besides. It could have been worse.” The great god stood up. “After all. You could have lost your head. We’re done here! Thank you for your wonderful gifts! They will be put to good use!” Oden promised before hooking arms with his wife and leaving. 

Tor left with his wife, bragging about his new hammer, and Frej took his cloth and started leading his new boar to his carriage that he keeps close to his sister’s home.

A woman came and offered the dwarf a thread and needle and a man held Loke down. Loke spotted Sigyn further away. 

“Sigyn! Darling! Help me out here!”

“This is your mess, my sweet. You’ll need to handle it yourself.” she walked over and kissed her husband. “Love you, handsome.” and with that the pregnant woman walked away.

Loke was pale and looked after her, feeling betrayed.

“You fucking  _ whore _ !! You fat  _ bitch _ ! Hag! Slut!! How could you?! I’m your husband and I-”   
  
“Oh shut up already, you big baby.” Brokk said and crouched. “Take it like a man.” 

And that was how Loke developed pure hatred and fear towards dwarves.

After that he didn’t cross paths with them again and he stayed away the best he could. You can still see small scars on his lips where the thread used to be if you look very carefully.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure which story to do next. I have a few ideas. It's a bit hard to translate the stories into my own words though.

**Author's Note:**

> References to The sandman, Lucifer and maybe other DCU things might appear later on.  
> What can I like how things work in that universe.  
> Probably nothing will actually be cannon tho.  
> I like the idea of Dream and his siblings.  
> For now it's just norse mythology. One might argue that I should use Marvel instead, but I'm actually a bit mad at how they present norse mythology so.... ye....  
> And I can't guarantee that what I write will be 100% accurate to the Edda. Especially since I want to fit other things in this story that will ruin a lot of the points in the actual mythology. And everyone understands the poems differently, so there is no 100% to follow it so suck it.  
> Also. Tell me if it makes you cringe when you read Freja, Oden, Loke, Tor and if you want me to use Freya, Odin, Loki, Thor instead.


End file.
